


What I Needed Today

by greyone01



Series: 25 Days of Damerey 2018 [4]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: 25 Days of Damerey, Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship, DameRey, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, F/M, JediPilot, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-09-07 05:20:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16847905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greyone01/pseuds/greyone01
Summary: Immediately post-TLJ. After bringing Black Squadron home, Poe struggles to deal with rapid turn of events of the past few days. Rey feels overwhelmed with her new life. An unexpected meeting cultivates the beginning of a beautiful friendship.





	What I Needed Today

**Author's Note:**

> Day 4 of 25 days of Damerey

The debrief with General Organa was one of the longer debriefs they’ve had, but there were plenty of information to be exchanged. Of course, during their flight back to the new Resistance base, Black Leader Commander Poe Dameron had already filled in Black Squadron with his unofficial account of what transpired since the pilots left for their trans-galactic mission. 

He was actually thankful that he had the chance to disclose everything to his squadron over their comms. He was not proud of a lot of things he did, and not having to see their reactions as he told them was a blessing. Once landed, they were shuffled straight to the General’s conference room, and the formal setting hindered them from discussing the events in a more personal level. He was not quite ready to find out just how much all these affected his relationship with his pilots, so as soon as they were dismissed, he made a beeline for the door and was away before anyone could talk to him.

With BB-8 on his heels, he rushed out of base’s main structure and inhaled gulpfuls of crisp mountain air. Something’s not quite right with him, and it’s not just because of the guilt from the blood on his hands. Everything that happened since Jakku – he never faced death as much as he had in the past few days, his mind still felt raw from Kylo Ren’s torture, the destruction of Starkiller base, the dreadnought, the mutiny, Crait, him rejoining Black Squadron – it all happened so fast, he hasn’t really had any time to process everything. He usually liked nothing more than to hang out with his squadron once the dust settled, they were his brothers- and sisters-in-arms, his family on base. They’re his go-to people when he’s as messed up as he was right now. But here he was, all but running away from them on their first day back. 

He headed for a dense crop of trees not far on his right. Out of habit, he chose the most level way to his destination, to make it easier for his spherical droid to follow him. A few meters into the wooded area, he stopped beneath a tree and slowly settled on the ground. Emitting a few concerned beeps, BB-8 seemed to regard him tentatively, rolling to stop on his feet. “I don’t know, buddy, I’m not quite right at the moment.”

The little droid rolled next to him, making Poe chuckle with the almost comical way it moved its dome head such that its optical sensor was looking at him in an exaggerated fashion. At least he still had his faithful astromech.

Or maybe not. BB-8 suddenly snapped its head up and began to roll away from him. Poe sighed and leaned back on the tree behind him. The droid wasn’t gone for long, but it didn’t come back alone.

“Hey buddy, where’d you go?” Poe asked at the same time as he heard a now-familiar voice remark, “I didn’t expect to find you here, BB-8.”

Rey was a couple of steps behind the droid, and she stopped when she saw Poe. “Um, hi. I’m sorry, I didn’t realize anyone was here.”

She tried to hide her anxiety, but to him it was clear as day. Strangely, he knew, he just knew, that her turmoil was not much unlike his own. She probably had it worse, having been thrust into this very alien environment without the benefit of having familiar faces around her. As much as he wanted to be on his own, he felt that he needed to reach out to her. “Are you all right?”

She seemed surprised with his question. “Not really,” she confessed. “But I don’t want to intrude, I can go somewhere else.”

“No intrusion at all, it was just getting a bit too much for me back there,” he shared. “But you’re welcome to stay, if you want to.”

“You?” she asked, still with surprise in her tone. She approached him and settled on the ground beside him. She drew her knees up, hugging them to her chest. “I would’ve thought this would feel like, well, like home to you.”

Poe gave her a small smile. “Nah, home is on the other side of the galaxy. A new base eventually starts to feel a bit like it, but it’ll never be the same.” They fell into comfortable silence, both breathing easier now that they’re away from the bustle of the base. 

“I don’t really know what home would feel like,” Rey finally spoke up after a while. “Where I lived in Jakku, it was really just a shelter, it offered some security, but even there I felt the need to keep my guard up at all times.”

Poe wanted to say he understood, to offer her some comfort, but he honestly did not. While a base does not feel like home to him, at least he felt safe enough to lower his guard down. So he kept his mouth shut and waited for her to continue.

“I’m not used to being around people all the time,” Rey continued after a lengthy pause. “It probably would be easier if they were people I knew, but I only really know Finn and BB-8.” She added, as if an afterthought, “And you. Finn, and especially BB-8, kept talking about you, I feel like I sort of know you already.”

Poe chuckled. “And me, you. You were all BB-8 talked about after I got him back, and all Finn talked about after he woke up. By the way, I haven’t had the chance to thank you for taking care of my droid.” BB-8 chirped its thanks also after he said that, making Rey smile for the first time that day.

“You’re both welcome,” Rey said. “I’m glad I did, otherwise, I’d still be stuck in Jakku.” She looked like she was about to say more, but she stopped at that.

“Feels like that was a lifetime ago, doesn’t it?” Poe remarked softly.

Rey nodded. “A lifetime I don’t want to go back to, despite how crazy this has been.”

“You don’t ever have to,” Poe said with conviction. “You’re free to do whatever you want, Rey. You don’t even have to stay here with us if you don’t want to.”

Rey made a choking sound, making Poe look at her in alarm. His anxiety level shot up when he saw tears in her eyes. “Kriff, I’m so sorry, Rey, I didn’t mean to upset you. Erase everything I said, just forget about that.”

To his astonishment, Rey began to smile through her tears. “No, I’m not upset, Poe,” she said, laying a hand on his arm, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Not at all. What you said – that was the kindest thing anyone ever said to me, that’s why I couldn’t stop the tears.” She seemed to have gotten control of the tears, and hastily wiped her face with her hand. “I guess you’re right, I just didn’t realize it until you said it. Thank you.”

Poe let out the bated breath he was holding. “You had me worried for a while there.”

She smiled at him and gave his arm another squeeze before pulling her hand away. “I want to stay. With the Resistance, for as long as you will have me. I want to see this through, however bloody the end may be.”

“Good,” Poe smiled back. “Because I don’t want to have to explain to the General that I just made you cry and leave.”

“You did make me cry,” Rey pointed out. “Happy tears. But I really would like to stay.”

“You can stay as long as you want,” Poe promised, grinning now.

“But for now, I’d like to stay here,” Rey said, pointing to the ground for emphasis. “Right here.”

“You can stay as long as you want,” Poe repeated. He suddenly realized Rey might be hinting for him to go. “I can go, if you want to be alone.” He started to get up, but she laid her hand again on his arm.

“No, don’t go,” she shook her head. “I thought I wanted to be alone, but this is better. I think this was what I needed today.”

Poe smiled and nodded. “All right, I don’t really want to go back yet.” They fell back into the comfortable silence they shared moments ago, each lost in their own thoughts, taking comfort from the other’s presence. 

“So,” Poe cleared his throat, glancing quickly at her. “How long do you want to stay here? With me, I mean.”

“I don’t know,” Rey shrugged. “I guess however long you want to stay here. I suppose I’ll go back when you do.”

“Think you’re up for more talk?” Poe looked at her pensively. He came out here to try to process everything that’s happened, and like Rey, he thought he wanted to do that alone. Then, after what she said, he realized she might be right about this being better than dealing with everything on his own. Despite what BB-8 and Finn told him about her, he still didn’t know her very well, but from what he’s gathered so far, she might just turn out to be a good friend.

“Let’s hear it,” Rey nodded. “What did you want to talk about?”

Poe gave her a grateful smile and began telling her about why he was out there. By the time they decided to go back inside, both were breathing easier and feeling a bit less damaged. Life just became a bit better for the pilot and the scavenger.


End file.
